[g-slider gid="187587" width="100%" height="100%"]The Royal Standard, one of the newest boutiques to come to the Boardwalk at Towne Lake, is unique for a number of reasons.
It marks the first foray into Texas for the popular upscale gift shop, as well as the first retail venue to open at the Boardwalk.
The shop is owned by Mark and Krista Pierce, who founded the original location in Louisiana. Store Manager Saree Anderson oversees the daily operations.
“When I took this job, [Mark and Krista] told me to treat it as if it was my own store,” Anderson said. “It is a natural fit, and the owners gave me a lot of freedom.”
Part of this freedom entails hand-selecting products as unique as the store itself, Anderson said. Customers will find fashion items, jewelry, totes, housewares and travel goods, among other offerings.
If a customer cannot find what they are looking for among the store’s stock, he or she can request modifications, Anderson said. The Royal Standard has a fashion designer on staff to design new products for a customer’s individual desires. The company also manufactures some of its own products in case specific modifications are requested.
“[The owners] ask for our customer’s input a lot,” Anderson said. “They call me almost daily and ask what the customers are wanting. If it is something we don’t make, we will make it.”
In the first few weeks of operation, customers at the Boardwalk have been requesting Texas-specific goods, Anderson said.
The Louisiana based company normally caters to their home state customers with fleur-de-lis and Louisiana adorned products. Since moving into a Texas location, The Royal Standard has started producing Texas game day goods and Lone Star State fashion products.
Many Houstonites may be familiar with the Royal Standard through the city’s annual Nutcracker Market and RoundTop Antiques Fair, where the Pierce’s have been selling their goods long before opening their storefront.
Anderson said the company’s popularity at these special events was a reason the Pierces took interest in the Houston area.
“We were known in the area for taking up a huge space at the Nutcracker Market,” she said. “Everyone kept asking us to bring a store here ... I definitely see us growing in the Houston market in the next five to 10 years.”
9955 Barker Cypress Road, Ste. 108, Cypress
281-324-0377
www.theroyalstandard.com
Hours: Mon.-Wed. 10 a.m.-6 p.m.
Thu.-Sat. 10 a.m.-8 p.m.
Sun. 11 a.m.-5 p.m.
